On the dispersion of a solute in oscillating flow of a non-Newtonian fluid in a channel

The paper presents an exact analysis of the dispersion of an immiscible solute in a non-Newtonian fluid (known as an incompressible second-order fluid which shows viscoelastic behaviour) flowing slowly in a parallel plate channel in the presence of a periodic pressure gradient. Using a generalized dispersion model which is valid for all times after the solute injection, the diffusion coefficients K _i (τ)(i=1,2,3,…) are obtained as functions of time τ in the case when the initial solute distribution is in the form of a slug of finite extent. The analysis leads to the novel result that K ₂(τ) (which is a measure of the longitudinal dispersion coefficient of the solute) has a steady part S in addition to a fluctuating part D ₂(τ) due to the pulsatility of the flow. It is found that S decreases with increase in the viscoelastic parameter M for given values of the amplitude λ and frequency ω of the pressure pulsation. On the other hand, it is found that at a fixed instant τ, the amplitude of D ₂(τ) increases with increase in M for given values of λ and ω. Further it is shown that at a given instant τ, the amplitude of D ₂(τ) decreases with increase in ω for given λ and M and the profile for D ₂(τ) becomes progressively flatter with increase in ω. Finally the axial distribution of the average concentration θ _m of the solute over the channel cross-section is determined at different instants after the solute injection for several values of M, λ and ω. The present study is likely to have important bearing on the problem of dispersion of tracers in blood flow through arteries.     

Flow and reactive transport in porous media induced by well injection: Similarity solution

The authors study concentration profiles of solutes undergoingequilibrium absorption in the vicinity of a water well. Forthe case of a contamination event, the limit problem of vanishingwell radius, which is of self-similar nature, is analysed indetail. Existence, uniqueness, and qualitative properties ofsolutions of the corresponding ordinary differential equationsare shown. Some numerical examples are also presented.     

Matrix effects in the determination of butyltin compounds in environmental samples by GC AA after hydride generation

Experiments for the determination of mono-, di and tri-butyltin (MBT, DBT and TBT) by hydride generation/gas chromatography/atomic absorption spectrometry in various matrices (sediment, suspended matter, mussel, algae and water) have revealed that poor butyltin recoveries are obtained in sediments displaying high sulphur and hydrocarbon contents; very poor recoveries were also observed for TBT in sediments with high chlorophyll pigment contents as well as in algal samples. It was however not clear whether the hydride generatin was inhibited by these infering compounds, as was previously assumed in the case of hydrocarbons, or whether interferences affected the atomization rate. Further studies were performed to solve this problem in order to validate this method in the case of analyses of, for example, oil-contaminated sediment and algae. This paper presents the results obtained. It is concluded here that the poor recoveries were due to an inhibition of hydride generation rather than to interference at the atomization stage.     

Positive solutions and dynamics of a finite difference reaction–diffusion system

We investigate the dynamics and methods of computation for some nonlinear finite difference systems that are the discretized equations of a time-dependent and a steady-state reaction–diffusion problem. The formulation of the discrete equations for the time-dependent problem is based on the implicit method for parabolic equations, and the computational algorithm is based on the method of monotone iterations using upper and lower solutions as the initial iterations. The monotone iterative method yields improved upper and lower bounds of the solution in each iteration, and the sequence of iterations converges monotonically to a solution for both the time-dependent and the steady-state problems. An important consequence of this method is that it leads to a bifurcation point that determines the dynamic behavior of the time-dependent problem in relation to the corresponding steady-state problem. This bifurcation point also determines whether the steady-state problem has one or two non-negative solutions, and is explicitly given in terms of the physical parameters of the system and the type of boundary conditions. Numerical results are presented for both the time-dependent and the steady-state problems under various boundary conditions, including a test problem with known analytical solution. These numerical results exhibit the predicted dynamic behavior of the time-dependent solution given by the theoretical analysis. Also discussed are the numerical stability of the computational algorithm and the convergence of the finite difference solution to the corresponding continuous solution of the reaction–diffusion problem. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Molecular electric field mapping of some anions and cations of 2- aminopurine and 6- thioguanine

Electric fields of the anions, cations and neutral forms of 2-aminopurine and 6-thioguanine have been mapped. Certain important features of the maps are similar to those found earlier in the neutral and ionic forms of adenine and guanine. The computed electric field patterns satisfactorily explain reactive sites and biological activity of the molecules.     

An easy and fast way to determine the enantiomeric purity of substituted cyclanones

The determination of the enantiomeric purity of 2 or 3-substituted cyclanones, particularly cyclohexanones, is conveniently achieved by derivatisation into cyclic aminals with commercially available (R, R)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine. The derivatisation procedure is directly done into the NMR tube, instantaneously, and ¹³C NMR allows an accurate measure of the ee.     

A high performance liquid chromatographic assay for AMP-deaminase activity in the erythrocytes of healthy subjects and patients with inherited purine disorders

A novel method for measuring AMP-deaminase activity in human erythrocytes is presented, based on the determination of the reaction product, IMP, using high performance liquid chromatography. IMP formation was found to be proportional both to the incubation time and the amount of haemolysate over a wide range. The minimal detectable AMP-deaminase activity was more than 1000 times lower than the mean activity found in healthy controls (1083 nmol/h/mg Hb). No marked difference of activity was found in the patients with the following inherited purine disorders: familial juvenile gouty nephropathy and deficiencies of adenosine deaminase, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase or adenine phosphoribosyltransferase. The activity in the erythrocytes of patients with chronic renal failure was also similar to controls. The existence of subjects with low erythrocyte AMP-deaminase activity in the population has been confirmed.     

Optical probing of thin liquid crystal layers using the prism-coupling technique

Prism-coupling work in polymer aligned liquid crystal layers is presented with special emphasis being placed on the ferroelectric chiral smectic C phase, of interest to electro-optic device fabrication. Experimental results as a function of temperature, wavelength and DC applied voltage are presented, together with a study of sp mixing which may have potential device applications as well as being an elegant technique with which to establish the optical dielectric tensor configuration in thin, aligned liquid crystal layers.     

The liquid-crystalline behaviour of amphiphilic ethane-1,2-diol derivatives incorporating a six membered ring in their principal structure

Novel 3-phenyloxy substituted propane-1,2-diol derivatives, 4-(4-n-hexyloxyphenyl)-butane-1,2-diol and 4-(trans-4-n-pyropylcyclohexyl)-butane-1,2-diol have been synthesized and their thermal behaviour has been studied. These compounds exhibit thermotropic and, after addition of water, also lyotropic liquid-crystalline behaviour. The clearing temperatures of the smectic mesophases were found to be strongly dependent on the alkyl chain length and on the structural units that link the aromatic ring to the alkyl chain and to the diol unit. The behaviour of the aromatic compounds is compared with that of the cyclohexane derivative. Thereby it has been realized that the mesophase stability of the amphiphilic diols incorporating a rigid unit is largely determined by both, the molecular geometry (molecular shape and intramolecular flexibility) and the amphiphilic structural pattern.     

Magnetic resonance findings in sarcoidosis of the thorax.

Fifteen patients with sarcoidosis underwent thoracic MRI examinations. The T2 signal intensity of lymphadenopathy varied, with no characteristic pattern noted. Three of four patients with bright lymph nodes on T2 images had stage I sarcoidosis, but low intensity nodes were also seen in stage I patients. Coronal images were complementary to axial images and better depicted subcarinal adenopathy. MRI does not distinguish the lymphadenopathy of sarcoidosis from other entities, but is useful for defining the anatomic extent of disease and differentiating pulmonary artery enlargement from adenopathy.